Sick BD; possible impaction or dehydration

[DJTroz]

Good Afternoon;

I'm hoping some can shed some light on my situation until we can get our dragon into the vet on Monday. Please excuse the briefness of my comments as I am at work trying to capture as much as possible in minimal time. We have two dragons; both in identical, seperate setups.

Spike is approximately 9 years old, overall great health up until around 7 days ago. Would stand-up, quick movement, very alert and attentive, regular/daily eating habits and bowel movements.

Diet:
Mustard Greens base topped with either grapes, apples, zucchini or squash every day, once a day sprinkled with Repti-cal. 10-15 dusted crickets once a week, as a treat.

Habitat:
A new cage is being built as we speak but currently (and the same for the past 3 years), 50 gal glass tank, ground/crushed walnut substrate, screen top, SunGlo 75w basking light, Fluker 100w ceramic heater. The UVA/B bulb has been removed due to contruction of the new cage (I know, not the best idea) but we have been supplementing the calcium with sprinking Repit-Cal and Repti-Vit on their food every morning. Keep in mind, the other dragon is house and care for indentically with no problems.

Issue:
Around a week ago, we noticed he didn't eat anything. This wasn't alarming as some days, he would skip eating. We were also not alarmed as we seen some dead shed-like skin by his ear and figured he was getting ready to shed. A few days passed and still no eating or defication but did start noticing him stretching his hind legs for a few seconds like he was trying to deficate. He would repeat this about every 10 minutes. We didnt question MBD as we had a bout with this with my first reptile (an iguana) and our other Beardie which we rescued and he isnt showing the usual signs. We gave him a warm bath and after about a 5 minute soak, notices some of the walnut shell under anus-flap (sorry, I dont know another name for it). I gently cleaned it, let him soak a bit longer and placed him back in his cage. It's now 3 days passed that point and still no change. Now, he's not strectching his back legs anymore, but he doesnt want to walk around anywhere... simply, lethergic.

We're trying to get into the vet and the're saying to come in Monday morning. I will be picking up electrolytes and liquid vitamins tonight to start in-home treatment as these have worked in the past for MBD and will be trying baby food with olive oil as a form of semi-solid nurishment with the olive oil to pass a potention impact.

Any ideas?

 

[Menolly]

So I have no idea about any of this, I just thought I'd bump you up so someone could see it. How did the vet visit go?
Mel

 

[wizbee]

The walnut shell has caused an impaction. Remove the walnut shell and replace with paper towels for now.
Applesauce or canned pumpkin , olive oil all good for loosening things up
Warm baths and tummy massages untill it passes.
No more walnut shell.

 

[beardie parents]

9 years old! wow. That's a great age for a beardie. I wish I had other ideas for you.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

What UVB are you using? The SunGlo is not a UVB light, just in case you were thinking that it was. Alot of people mistake them for the Solar Glo since they are both from Exo terra.
If you are trying to get an impaction to pass, you supplement with pumpkin (canned without sugar) squash babyfood, sugar free applesauce, & a couple of drops of olive oil. That could help with the impaction.
Adding some extra oral hydration will also help too.
How often do you give calcium?
At 9 years old, that is awesome. He still needs some calcium for his bones, but I noticed you were only feeding 10-15 crickets per week. You can give him more than that, even at his age. He can have at least 40 feeders a week.
Also, what are the temps in the tank? What do you measure the temps with? You have quite 175watt of heat in there for a 50 gallon tank.

Tracie